Coal
| Coal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Resource |
| Location | Mining; Dust Sprite; Blacksmith; Charcoal Kiln; Panning; Recycling Machine; Artifact Spot; Fishing Treasure Chest; Geodes; Bookseller |
| Sell Price | 15g |
Coal is the fuel that keeps the farm's metalworking going. Every bar that comes out of a Furnace needs a lump of Coal, so copper, iron, gold and iridium bars all depend on it. It also feeds the Fish Smoker and goes into a long list of crafting recipes, from the first Scarecrow to the Bee House, Preserves Jar, Seed Maker and bombs. Early on, Coal is often the resource that runs out first, because tool upgrades and machines all call for bars at once. Learning the best ways to gather it, from Dust Sprites to the Charcoal Kiln, keeps the furnaces busy.
The in-game description reads: A combustible rock that is useful for crafting and smelting.
Location
Breaking ordinary rocks is the slow but constant supply. Any rock in The Mines or out in the valley can drop a lump. Better daily luck, luck buffs, a higher Mining level and the Prospector profession all raise the odds. Coal nodes give it far more reliably. They appear in the Quarry, the Quarry Mine and the Volcano Dungeon.
Dust Sprites are the classic coal farm. They swarm the icy floors from 41 to 79 of The Mines, and about half of them drop a lump when killed. Gil rewards the Burglar's Ring for slaying five hundred Dust Sprites, and that ring doubles Monster Loot, so the coal farm gets twice as good once it is earned. Several tougher monsters also drop Coal now and then, including the red, purple and black slimes, Stone Golems and Metal Heads.
Mine floors hide a few bonus stashes. Certain floors hold a minecart full of Coal, and some floors have a brown miner's bag, each with half a dozen lumps. The minecarts in The Mines refill every year. Breaking crates and barrels in The Mines, Skull Cavern and the Volcano Dungeon adds a little more.
Crafting the Charcoal Kiln at Foraging level 2 turns spare Wood into Coal. Ten pieces of Wood make one lump in half an hour. Wood is precious in the first weeks, but a farm full of trees later has more of it than it needs. A row of kilns then becomes an easy coal supply without visiting the mines at all.
Clint sells Coal at the Blacksmith whenever the shop is open. It costs far more than it sells for, and the price rises again after the first year, so buying it is best saved for a short top-up before a big smelting day.
Many small finds add up over time. Panning in any water can bring up Coal, and so can opening a fishing Treasure Chest. Every kind of Geode may contain a lump. A Recycling Machine sometimes turns Trash or Driftwood into Coal. The Garbage Can outside the Blacksmith may hold some. Trains that pass through the Railroad sometimes drop Coal along the tracks. A fruit tree hit by lightning even produces Coal instead of fruit for a few days.
Uses
Smelting is the biggest use. A Furnace takes five pieces of ore and one Coal to make a bar. Quartz and Fire Quartz also need Coal to become Refined Quartz. The Fish Smoker burns one lump for each fish it smokes.
Coal also appears in many crafting recipes. The Scarecrow at Farming level 1 needs a single lump. The Bee House and the Preserves Jar each need eight, and the Seed Maker at Farming level 9 needs ten. Mining level 1 brings the Cherry Bomb and level 6 brings the Bomb, both of which pair a lump with some ore. Combat skills unlock the Warrior Ring, Explosive Ammo for the slingshot and the Slime Egg-Press. Robin sells several brazier recipes, and every brazier burns a single lump. The Cookout Kit for cooking on the go also takes a little Coal.
Crafting Coal with the other materials below makes these items.
| Item | Image | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Barrel Brazier | 
|
Wood (50), Solar Essence (1), Coal (1) |
| Bee House | 
|
Wood (40), Coal (8), Iron Bar (1), Maple Syrup (1) |
| Bomb | 
|
Iron Ore (4), Coal (1) |
| Carved Brazier | 
|
Hardwood (10), Coal (1) |
| Cherry Bomb | 
|
Copper Ore (4), Coal (1) |
| Cookout Kit | 
|
Wood (15), Fiber (10), Coal (3) |
| Explosive Ammo | 
|
Iron Bar (1), Coal (2) |
| Gold Brazier | 
|
Gold Bar (1), Coal (1), Fiber (5) |
| Preserves Jar | 
|
Wood (50), Stone (40), Coal (8) |
| Scarecrow | 
|
Wood (50), Coal (1), Fiber (20) |
| Seed Maker | 
|
Wood (25), Gold Bar (1), Coal (10) |
| Slime Egg-Press | 
|
Coal (25), Fire Quartz (1), Battery Pack (1) |
| Stone Brazier | 
|
Stone (10), Coal (1), Fiber (5) |
| Stump Brazier | 
|
Hardwood (5), Coal (1) |
| Wicked Statue | 
|
Stone (25), Coal (5) |
| Wooden Brazier | 
|
Wood (10), Coal (1), Fiber (5) |
Notes
Some Fish Ponds ask for ten Coal before they grow. Ice Pip and Stonefish ponds request it when going from five fish to seven, and Midnight Carp request it earlier.
The Raccoon's wife at the Giant Stump trades a Mahogany Seed for a stack of Coal. The Desert Trader offers the Dark Piano for an enormous pile of it.
At the Bookseller, a copy of Mining Monthly can be traded for a stack of Coal. Clint also sells Coal for Calico Eggs at the Desert Festival.
Clint feels neutral about receiving Coal, Sam hates it and everyone else dislikes it.
All Resources
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
| Name | Image | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Bat Wing | 
|
15g |
| Battery Pack | 
|
500g |
| Bone Fragment | 
|
12g |
| Broken CD | 
|
0g |
| Broken Glasses | 
|
0g |
| Bug Meat | 
|
8g |
| Cave Jelly | 
|
180g |
| Cinder Shard | 
|
50g |
| Clay | 
|
20g |
| Coal | 
|
15g |
| Copper Bar | 
|
- |
| Copper Ore | 
|
5g |
| Driftwood | 
|
0g |
| Fiber | 
|
1g |
| Gold Bar | 
|
- |
| Gold Ore | 
|
25g |
| Green Algae | 
|
15g |
| Hardwood | 
|
15g |
| Iridium Bar | 
|
- |
| Iridium Ore | 
|
100g |
| Iron Bar | 
|
- |
| Iron Ore | 
|
10g |
| Joja Cola | 
|
25g |
| Monster Loot | - | - |
| Moss | 
|
5g |
| Radioactive Bar | 
|
- |
| Radioactive Ore | 
|
300g |
| Refined Quartz | 
|
50g |
| Rice | 
|
100g |
| River Jelly | 
|
125g |
| Rotten Plant | 
|
0g |
| Sea Jelly | 
|
200g |
| Soggy Newspaper | 
|
0g |
| Solar Essence | 
|
40g |
| Stone | 
|
2g |
| Sugar | 
|
50g |
| Trash | - | - |
| Trash (item) | 
|
0g |
| Treasure Chest | 
|
5000g |
| Vinegar | 
|
100g |
| Void Essence | 
|
50g |
| Wheat Flour | 
|
50g |
| White Algae | 
|
25g |
| Wood | 
|
2g |